Souls Reunited over Time
by Kiku-the one and only
Summary: [Spoiler alert!]The wolves opened paradise; a new world began. Those who were lost in the old world were reborn. Is it still possible for two lovers to find each other again? (This is set after the epilogue in the anime. But there are going to be a lot of references to story points in the anime, so you may be spoiled unless you finished the series first.)
1. An Emptiness Filled

**Hi! It's been so long! I don't remember the editor being such a hardcase. All that time I spend making sure I've indented lines and I have to do it again here. For those who were following my "Bonds of Promise" Fan fiction. I'm sorry, that went south. But this, I think, is even better than where "Bonds of Promise" was going. I wanted to write the first 4-5 chapters before posting. P.S. Italicized quotations are supposed to be in thought. **

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><p>The morning rain left dew on buildings and railings, and a moist saturation in the air. But the cloudy skies, and gray, wet morning didn't help alleviate the mood of a young man, perhaps in his late teens, which was as damp and gray as the weather. His auburn hair, yellow hooded sweater, and gray sweatpants were just beginning to dry. Luckily the bag of groceries he was carrying was not too wet. He was on his way home, but he chose a bad morning to run out of food. Despite this, something amazing was going to happen to this boy, whose name is Hige.<p>

Hige releases a sigh.

_ "There. I feel it again. That...emptiness, like something is missing in my life. I know it's not my stomach, because __that__ emptiness feels different."_

His thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of shouting.

"She went that way!"

"Follow her!"

"Wait you brat!"

A young woman races around the corner of an alley, and stops to catch her breath. Hige couldn't help staring at her dark skin, like toffee, and short, black hair. Her attire consisted of a black dress jacket, high, black leather boots, and a fuchsia scarf; but most distinctive were her bright, blue eyes. Her breath was still heavy, but she finally looks over at Hige. Their eyes meet, and they both have a strange sensation from being in each-others' presence. Their moment is interrupted.

"She's over there!"

Three shady-looking men come out of the same alley. They give her a jeering look of annoyance. The woman takes an defensive stance and glares. Then the men notice Hige, who had put down his paper bag and walked between the woman and the men.

"A friend, eh?" the middle, who appeared to be the leader, sneered.

"And what if I am?" Hige retorts rebelliously.

"Hand over the woman." the leader demands, with no change in his voice.

"Why should I?" Hige asks, his glare becoming grim.

"She's already been sold."

"_Sold?" _Hige wonders. _"I suppose more importantly, why am I defending a woman I haven't seen before? However she is lovely."_ Hige still stands his ground. The leader gets annoyed.

"Hey." he motions the other two men, obviously goons. They approach the pair ready to attack. Hige gently pushes the woman back.

"Wait here." he whispers, then Hige charges at the first goon. The goon swings a crowbar, but Hige ducks, swerves and throws a punch to the side under his ribs. The goon staggers and falls. Hige hears a voice call behind him.

"C'mere you!" but it wasn't for him. The second goon was trying to get to the woman. Hige runs to the side, leans down and slams his body into the goon's side. He falls over, but before he can get up, Hige pounces on him, slamming his head into concrete. He knocks out.

_ "Yes!" _Hige triumphs. All of a sudden he feels steel hit the back of his head. The first goon he attacked had gotten up, and hit Hige with the crowbar. Hige becomes stunned, but before the goon, can inflict a more serious blow, the young woman jumps and knocks the man out with a back-kick to the head. Hige shakes his head trying to wear off the dizziness, then he sees the leader trying himself. Hige smirks, and he charges again, feints a punch then side-kicks him around the abdominal hitting some vitals. As the leader, and goons groan, stretched out on the ground, Hige grabs his bag, and motions to the young woman.

"Follow me." She nods and they both run to another back-alley. A few more turns and they come out in a ramshackle neighborhood of apartments and row-houses. Hige sighs quietly. Then looks to the woman.

"Are you all right?" Hige asks. The woman nods.

"Yeah, thanks for the help."

"Don't thank me yet." He replies modestly. "You still might not be safe in the open, who knows how persistent those guys are?"

"Yeah, they did follow me a long way." she agrees.

"Um," Hige asks awkwardly. "I live around here. Do you- (he clears his throat) Would you like to stay at my place for awhile? At least until you're in the clear." The woman smiles.

"Sure."

"Yes!" Hige exclaims in a hushed glory. Then he blushes and laughs nervously as he rubs the back of his head. When they get into his apartment Hige fumbles with the keys. He opens the door, and then in an awkward, gentlemanly fashion he holds the door.

"Ladies first." The woman smiles, then her expression turns to puzzlement as she walks in.

"You live...here?" Hige walks in and closes the door.

"It is a little messy, I guess."

"Messy? It's cluttered!"

"Temporarily cluttered." Hige explains. "A lot of this will be cleared out by the end of the week.

"You see, I work at a garbage facility, and you wouldn't believe the things people throw away! I'll collect some, refurbish and clean them, and sell it to second-hand stores or salvage collectors." The woman gives a wily smirk.

"So in other words it'll be clear at the end of this week and cluttered again by next week."

"Well" Hige laughs "I guess that depends. Ha-ha!" He clears his throat.

"Um, would you like some tea?"

"I'd like that, thank you."

Hige walks into the kitchen. Then he backs up.

"Actually I never asked your name. I'm Hige. Hige Kizoku." His eager smile suddenly made the woman feel shy.

"I'm...Aoko. Aoko Yaiden."

"Aoko?" Hige asks.

"Yeah." Aoko replies. "'Ao' for 'blue' and 'ko' for 'little'."

"'Little blue', huh." Hige mutters.

_ "That's kind of cute, and it so suits her with her blue eyes."_ As Hige makes the tea, Aoko looks around.

"Do you..." she asks looking around the apartment. "Ever clean here?" Hige answers.

"Yeah...um when the floor gets dirty and things look dusty. Please sit down." Aoko rolls her eyes. After finding that there weren't any chairs she reluctantly rests on a cushion near a low coffee table. She strokes it, noticing how nice it looks.

"Is this going too?" She asks.

"The table? Naw I liked that one, so I kept it."

"What did you do use before?"

"The floor." Hige answers matter-of-factually. Aoko sighs.

"You're one weird kid. Sweet, but weird."

"Kid" he mutters bewildered. "How old are you?"

"About 23 years."

_ "Damn she's four years older than me!"_ Hige thinks to himself.

"Tea's ready." he announces. Hige puts the platter down, and pours tea for Aoko, then himself.

"Oops! I forgot to ask if you wanted anything with it!" Hige sputters.

"It's okay." Aoko says calmly, seeing how flustered Hige looked. "I like it plain anyway."

"Oh good. So do I." Hige smiles. They drink their tea in silence. Then for the second time they really gaze at one another. Hige sighs and places his cup on the saucer.

"Aoko" he whispers. "How long, are you going to stay here?" Aoko looks concerned and puts her tea down also.

"Am I-?"

"No, it's not that!" Hige interrupts. "It's just...I would like to get to know you better. You see...ever since I first saw you...I felt like...I mean..." Aoko sighs.

"I think I know what you mean." She whispers. "I felt it too. Like..." They speak in unison:

"We've met before."

They stare at each-other. Slowly their hands start to meet one another. The moment their fingers touch, a myriad of visions flash in their heads.

An old world, where they were wolves, who could disguise themselves as humans. A world that was slowly freezing. Their first meeting in a similar occurrence, searching for a girl made from an mystic flower with their misfit pack. Avoiding Jagara's soldiers in the capital, to fighting Darcia, to Hige touching his mate's face as she was dying. Both Hige and Aoko gasp. Aoko looks at Hige and whispers.

"...Hige?" and just as surprised Hige answers back.

"...Blue!" Their fingers, which were touching, fold into a firm embrace. Hige leans in and rests his cheek against Aoko's. After a moment he sighs. "It is you Blue. Isn't it?"

"Yes," Aoko concurs as she places her hand on his other cheek and holds them close. "I remember now." Hige smiles and breathes another contented sigh. Afterward he uses his right hand and slides it under Aoko's chin, and turns her face so their lips meet. Aoko shudders for a moment, then returns the kiss. They kiss one more time before they both move back, and look. Hige notices a softness in Aoko's eyes, and Aoko wonders how Hige's warm gaze could look even more so.

They both look down at their hands, but then Hige turns and leans against the table.

"You know," he says. "All of my life I felt like I was missing something. Sometimes I wondered if it was normality, because of my living situation or my troubled mother and twisted father." Aoko looks sympathetically, wondering what kind of life he lived. "But maybe...maybe all along...It was you." He turns and looks to Aoko. "Maybe I was missing you." Aoko's solemn look curved a little. She added.

"We _did _make a pact to stay together no matter what. And here all this time we were apart. I too, felt a longing for something, but I never knew what." She laughs. "I guess it was destiny that I ran into the path you were taking."

"What _were_ you doing with those guys anyway?" Hige asks puzzled. "They don't seem to be like the kind of crowd you would hang out with."

"I was trying to find work. You see, my father became sick and has been staying at the hospital for a long time. I was living at home with him, before that.

"His savings won't be enough over time, since he can't work, so I came to those men. It sounded like it would be good money."

"Let me guess, it wasn't what you thought it was?"

"Those pigs said it was private service, like a cleaner, but it was really intended for me to entertain a rich, rotten, old-timer. I need money, but I wouldn't go that low for it." she sighs. "At this rate we're going to lose our home."

Hige looks on in solemn silence. Then he breaks it.

"What about your mother?"

"She died five years ago." Aoko answers sadly.

"I'm sorry." Hige replies sadly.

"It's not your fault." Aoko retorted. She looks up, then back to Hige. "So what about _your_ family?"

Hige makes an unpleasant face.

"Well I don't have a lot of good things to say about them. Neither of them had a real job. My father made his 'living' through cons and blackmail. My mother was always drinking. When I was 15 my father was caught and indicted, and my mother was sent to rehab. They both lost custody of me, and I went to a foster home.

"It didn't work out for me so six months before my 17th birthday I managed to get a job and saved up. When I turned 17 I ran off and I've been on my own ever since."

Aoko had seen Hige's face while he told his story. His eyes went far away, and his face became grim. When he turned his head to look at her, she looked away quickly. She wasn't sure how to face him, or what to say.

"Are you okay?" Hige asks concerned.

"Oh. I'm fine." Aoko whispers. "I...just don't know what to say. It...sounds like you had it rough. You looked so distant and sad just now." Hige straightens up.

"Well I'm okay now. Don't worry about it!" He says, trying to lighten his voice. "We just have to take the cards life gives us and see what plays we can make with them. Sometimes we gamble the wrong cards at the wrong time, and we lose some. Sometimes we get lucky and score big. It's... an endless...something." Hige stumbled over the last bit of his analogy." Aoko chuckled.

"Are you trying to use that 'life is like a game' or 'when life gives you lemons' bit?"

"...Sort of..." Hige answers embarrassed. "But it kind of crumbled at the end."

"Don't worry." Aoko replies, her faint smile growing. "I've heard those sayings before in different ways. But I think I like this one better, than some of the others."

"Really?" Hige asks, a little doubtful.

"Truly." Aoko answers, her growing smile more radiant now. Hige blushes. "What?" asks Aoko.

"God you're so beautiful in that smile." Hige confesses. Now it was Aoko's turn to blush.

"W-what? H-hige..." She looks away. Hige relishes in her reaction.

_ "Wow. Imagine what she would do if I told her how much she really meant to me?"_

"Would I ever lie to you?" Hige asks in a teasing tone. "I said it before, well back then, you're an amazing woman. You still are." Aoko grumbles, and turns to him, an embarrassed fury in her eyes, and smacks Hige at the shoulder.

"Damn you! Stop teasing me!" she pauses. "Why are you acting this way?"

"What way?" Hige asks confused.

"You're...being kind of playful, and romantic. Well you were before, but not this much."

"Well." Hige sighs. "The world was coming to an end. And the nobles were pretty much wreaking havoc. We didn't have much time for romance." Suddenly the thought of Jagara and the nobles disheartened him. "You know, the life I've had in this world. Maybe it is redemption for the sins I committed in the old world. All the wolves I betrayed-"

"Don't even think like that!" Aoko interrupts him angrily. "They were using that collar to influence you, you couldn't help it!"

"I didn't try to resist, when I had the chance. And when I wasn't under their influence, all I did was run away from the truth. I didn't try to prevent it from happening again."

"But you redeemed yourself when you helped stop Jagara from completely opening the nobles' paradise! Your collar was destroyed when you protected me! And then you made the choice to confront Jagara, even if you lost your life in the battle." Aoko's voice started to shake, and she turned her head, in case tears came next. "I know your life was hard. But you said it yourself: we have to use the cards life gives us. It doesn't discriminate. You're not being punished, that's just how it is. Besides, whatever fate we had, the point is we were allowed to meet again. Can't you accept that?"

She choked down a sob, and tried not to shiver. Hige still could not see her face, but he knew she was trying not to cry. He reaches out, and holds her hand. He then pulls her against his shoulder. As he runs his hand over her head, he whispers to her endearing.

"Thank you Blue. I complained like a child, but I needed to hear that." Aoko rested her head against Hige's shoulder contently, then noticed the name.

"...Blue?" she questions. Hige realizes what he said.

"Oops I meant Aoko...right...I have to get used to calling you that." Hige corrects himself. Aoko laughs.

"It's all right if you call me that now and then. It can be your own special nickname for me."

"All right then." Hige replies a little relieved. Still holding Aoko, he leans back against the table, so she could rest on him easier.

"So I guess. Maybe Kiba opened up Paradise, and we are in the new world he opened.." Starts Hige. Aoko nods, but interjects.

"But we're not wolves."

"Who knows?" Hige shrugs, then playfully strokes Aoko's nose. "Hmm doesn't feel like a muzzle." Aoko resists a wily smile, then she playfully ruffles Hige's hair.

"Hmm doesn't feel like fur, although it is course." Hige laughs, but then his face becomes solemn once again. Aoko could tell by now that Hige was going to be serious again. She starts to remove her hand from his head. However, before she pulls her hand away, Hige grabs it, but holds it gently.

"What are we going to do?" He asks blankly.

"What?" replies Aoko. Then Hige answers.

"In our past life, we made a pact to stay together. But we were wolves, it was simpler. But here as people, we just met. Should we start slow, or date...or even get married?" Hige blushes as the last suggestion. "So I'm just asking. What do we do now?"

_**...To be continued...**_

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><p><strong>AUN: I know I changed Blue's name! But...they're human now. How many people are named...on second thought, in this day and age that is irrelevant. Even "Buru" didn't sound right so I took some liberties. **

**So...did you see how I borrowed a little from episode 12? I took some liberties, since it was just Hige, but he did do this cool move where he side-slammed a guy to the ground. Also another little bonus: When I was trying to think of a surname for Hige I used an online Japanese dictionary and typed in "noble". Kizoku was the most satisfying answer. So Hige's surname is a homage/reference to the original anime. ;)**

**Also I wanted to add that the whole inspiration for this was frustration at the epilogue. When I saw Tsume I thought: "Oh either they are wolves or reincarnated humans!" So I waited. I saw Hige. I saw Toboe. I saw Kiba...and then I never saw Blue. I was crushed. "I must amend this" I said!**


	2. Intuition

"_**In our past life, we made a pact to stay together. But we were wolves, it was simpler. But here as people, we just met. Should we start slow, or date...or even get married?" Hige blushes as the last suggestion. "So I'm just asking. What do we do now?"**_

Aoko stares back at him astonished.

_ "The way he asks it, as if he didn't know how a relationship works." _She wonders to herself.

"Hige, How do you feel about it?" she asks.

"I don't know. That's why I asked you." Hige replies. Aoko sits up, and is silent for a moment before continuing the conversation. Then she speaks.

"I think we should just go as we feel. I suppose we should start as really close friends, but we really don't know a whole lot about what we do now. If the way we were, since we were wolves, has changed much. Besides I think my father would be worried, and suspicious if I went right into a serious relationship."

"That's true. I'm not so sure if he would buy the 'we met in a past life' explanation." Hige added.

"But then, close friends don't share a couple of kisses." He blushed. Aoko sighed.

"Well, that was an intense moment." she replied sheepishly. "Well, either way, you'd have to meet my father before anything else."

"Deal." Hige agrees. They both smile a bit, and finish their tea in silence.

_ "I'm really happy now. My morning may have upsetting, but right now, I'm really glad he's by my side. I just feel, really content."_ Aoko thinks to herself, smiling sweetly. She wonders if Hige feels at all the same. She opens her mouth to ask, but decides to just enjoy being in each-others' presence.

Once they finished tea, they both headed to the kitchen with their dishes. They heard a knocking at the door. Aoko was about to ask, but Hige stopped her.

"What's wrong?" she asks, noticing Hige's solemn face showing again.

"Aoko." he whispers. "Come with me now. Quietly. Try not to make a sound."

_ "What is he upset about?"_ Aoko wonders. _"It's just the door. But then, he knows this neighborhood better than I." _She follows Hige, to the coat closet. Carefully Hige opens the door.

"Get in please." he whispers. Aoko walks in.

"Can you please tell me what's going on." she whispers anxiously.

"Intuition." Hige answers. "Aoko I'm going to close the door. But...please..." He grabs her hand.

"Please, please promise me that no matter what happens, no matter what you hear; _don't_ open this door, or make a noise, until you hear the front door close."

"But why?-"Aoko starts to ask.

"_Please!_" Hige pleads quietly. His eyes are now desperate, and his eyebrows creased with worry. Aoko sighs and nods her head. Just then, the door is knocked on again. Hige can't help himself, and kisses Aoko on the forehead, before closing the door.

In the dark, Aoko hears Hige walk to the door, and after a quick moment, and more knocking he opens it.

"Yes?" He asks. His voice was unpleasant. He could have been glaring.

"Took awhile for you to open the door, boy." The voice grumbled.

"I was asleep." Hige replies.

"That well?" The voice asks in disbelief.

"I'm a hard sleeper." Hige retaliates.

" Like hell! Either your door is thicker than an iceberg, or you really do sleep like the dead!" Another voice answers.

_ "Those men from before! I know those are their voices! Did they follow us?!"_ Aoko realized. Suddenly she wished that she could walk out. She feared for Hige's safety. _"Then again, he beat them before, but they hadn't expected it."_ Anxious she strains her ears to be sure she could hear every word.

"To get down to business." The leader changes subjects. "I trust you remember the young woman, you ran off with. The one who ran away from us?"

"So?" Hige asks placidly.

"'So'? She's here isn't she? A neighbor saw her enter your home."

_ "Damn!"_ Aoko bit her lip.

"Ah. I see." Hige replies. Aoko didn't know how Hige still seemed confident.

_ "He must have expected this. Or realized it later. That 'intuition' he mentioned." _Aoko concluded.

"Well, the neighbor must have only seen half of the event. She stayed for a short while, then escaped out the back bathroom window. The back roof is obscured by the slope."

"Is that so? Well, boy. Do you mind telling us which way she was headed?"

"Now why the hell would I tell you that?" Hige asks mockingly. "Besides I was just doing a good deed."

"I see." the leader sounded defeated. "Okay men, we'll have to look elsewhere." Aoko hears some footsteps, and releases a quiet sigh. "Oh by the way." the leader remarks.

"_I guess he didn't leave yet."_ Aoko was getting a bad feeling again.

"I wanted to say, you caused a lot of trouble for us today. A real headache, trying to get that woman, and you didn't help at all." The leader says, a sliver of irony in his voice.

"Glad to help." Hige said boldly.

"Sure." the leader replied annoyed. Then what he said next, was dripping in venom and blood lust. "Here's our 'thank-you'.

A gasp is heard, then a half-second later, a gunshot and a thud.

Aoko covers her mouth to muffle her gasp. It was getting harder and harder to keep her promise.

_ "Oh god! Please god, no! Please let it miss. Oh please I hope it missed!"_ Tears pricked her eyes. She could hear the leader laughing, but the laughter quieted as it got farther away. She still didn't hear the door close. Then she heard the sound of Hige groaning, and a rustling motion.

_ "Is he dragging himself?"_ Aoko wonders. She couldn't take it anymore. She opens the door open just as the front door closes. Aoko walks out, and is alarmed by what she sees.

Hige is slumped against the closed door, breathing hard, and bleeding heavily from the left collarbone. A streak of blood stains the carpet where he had dragged himself to the door.

"Oh my god! Hige!" Aoko cries, and rushes to his side. Not knowing what else to do, she tears off her scarf, and pushes down hard where the bleeding was. Hige groans a little.

_ "Damn it! Of course if he was shot, there may be a bullet. But how else am I going to slow down the bleeding?"_ Her thin scarf, however is not enough, and more blood seeps through the fabric.

"Hige! Hige can you hear me?" Aoko shouts. Through labored breathing Hige answers.

"A little."

_ "A little?! I'm shouting!"_

"Hige come on! This is no time to go into shock! Hige, do you have any towels or hand towels and where?!"

"B-bathroom, go right... From the closet... On a...shelf." Aoko takes one of Hige's hands and puts it to his chest. "Try to hold it down for a moment." Hige nods. Aoko races to the bathroom. She grab two towels and four hand towels. It was all random, but it would suffice. Rushing back she puts the first hand towels on top of her scarf.

"Hige. Where is your phone?" Hige points to his right. On the window seat nearby, sits a phone. Aoko looks down at his wound, still bleeding. She grabs a second hand towel. "Damn it Hige! Why does everything important have to be so far away!" Once again she asks Hige to hold the towels. Not that he would have enough strength to hold it down, he could barely speak. Fortunately the phone was wireless. Aoko rushes back, and puts down a third cloth. She was running low on bandages, and she couldn't afford to leave his side again. She dials the emergency number.

"Emergency dispatch."

"Please help! I have someone who was shot! He's bleeding badly, and I think he's going into shock!" There was a short wait.

"We have traced your call. We are sending EMT s now. As for the injured, are you holding down the bleeding?"

"I'm trying to!" Aoko replies desperately. "But it keeps going through. I'm using hand towels."

"Keep holding it, and cover with more bandage if you can. As for shock, is he clammy at all, or confused, dizzy, or lost awareness?"

"He's very pale and drowsy, and I think he's having trouble breathing."

"Keep him covered with a blanket. Have him lay down, and put something under his head. Watch to see whether he loses consciousness. Assistance should be here soon. Good luck."

_ "I'm glad I brought these big towels."_ Aoko clumsily lays Hige down then covers him with the towels with one hand, while the other is holding down the bleeding. Fortunately the third towel wasn't bleeding through as fast as the others. So Aoko used the last hand towel to form a make-shift pillow for his head. His eyes were closed, and he was still breathing heavily.

"Hige! Come on Hige wake up!" Aoko cries. Hige's eyes slowly open. He gives a weak smile. "Don't worry Hige." Aoko tells him. "Help is on the way." His eyes softens, then flutter. "Hige please try to stay awake." He clumsily nods his head. Aoko hears sirens wailing at that moment. She reaches over with her free and and pulls open the door. Hige looks up in alarm. "Don't worry." Aoko reassures him. "Help is here."

"We're here!" Aoko shouts waving her arm. Up here! Please!" A person walks up to the door.

"Is this the gunshot victim?" Aoko nods. The EMT calls for another person and a stretcher. Already gloved, the EMT checks on Hige. Aoko moves her hand a bit, but doesn't remove it yet. The EMT looks on. "It looks like it slowed down a bit. Better keep these on." The two workers put Hige on the stretcher and walks toward the ambulance.

"Wait!" Aoko shouts. She runs after them. "Can I come too?" The first EMT replies.

"You better change your clothes and wash your hands really good first, then meet us there."

"I- I don't know how to get to the hospital! And I don't have any spare clothes." Aoko cries. "Please!"

"Does he have any family?"

"No. I'm not family, but I'm the best he's got." Aoko replied. The EMT removed his gloves, grabbed a paper, and scribbled something on it.

"We have to get him to the hospital. Please, for your sake and his, clean up and find something else to wear. This is the address of the hospital. You can meet us there later. The last thing you need after this is to get blood poisoning."

Tears streaming down her face, Aoko nodded hesitantly. She didn't want him to go without her, but if she got sick, Hige wouldn't let it go. He may even blame himself. And he couldn't wait for her to get clean; it would be too late. She thanked the workers, took the paper, and waited until the ambulance was out of sight. Then she ran back into the apartment. She didn't want to take time to wash her clothes so she threw the bloody ones in a plastic bag. Still wearing undergarments she rushed into the bathroom, and turned on the faucet, vigorously scrubbing her hands with soap. She didn't have much time to lose. She wanted to get to the hospital no later than Hige would.

_**...To be continued...**_

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><p><strong>AUN: Oh no! What's gonna happen? Just so you know I wrote the first three chapters a year ago (Oct-Dec 2013) and it just so happened that I had to take my take First Aid course again for work around that time. So I thought it would be interesting to implement some of it. However as for the 911 call...I haven't had the nervewracking experience of calling emergency lines so I kinda had to do my best to make the dispatcher and EMT real. Nothing compared to another encounter in the next chapter...that one I really had to pull out of my butt.**


	3. No Time To Wait

_**...she ran back into the apartment. She didn't want to take time to wash her clothes so she threw the bloody ones in a plastic bag. Still wearing undergarments she rushed into the bathroom, and turned on the faucet, vigorously scrubbing her hands with soap. She didn't have much time to lose. She wanted to get to the hospital no later than Hige would.**_

Once her hands were washed and dried Aoko ran into the bedroom. She stood for a second at a dresser, than opened the drawers.

_ "I suppose Hige wouldn't mind if I borrowed some things." _Aoko assumes. She chose a red, long-sleeved crew shirt, and a pair of denim jeans. They were, of course, a bit big, but fortunately Hige had a couple belts stuffed in the dresser. She was about to put her boots on, when she thought of Hige's house keys.

_ "I'll have_ _to lock up at least. I really hope Hige didn't hide them."_

She quickly found them in the kitchen drawer. _"I'll have to ask him later why he has it here."_ She muses half-smiling. Then her face hardens. This was not a time to joke. As she puts her boots on there is another knock at the door. Aoko tenses.

_ "Did those guys hear the ambulance? Maybe they think I'm here." _She looks through the peephole, and sees a policeman. _"It's not them."_ Aoko sighs. She opens the door.

"Hello officer" She greets them solemnly.

"Were you the woman who called about a gunshot victim?" the first policeman asks.

"Yes." Aoko nods.

"We would like to ask you some questions. Did you see the person who shot him. Would you be able to identify them?"

"I didn't see him. I was hiding in the closet. However I do have a good idea who it was. Based on the voice and the conversation he and Hige, the victim, were having it was the same person who was pursuing me this morning."

"Why was he pursuing you?"

"I had been tricked into a situation where I wasn't safe. So I ran away. Hige saved me, and gave me refuge in his home. Someone had told the man that I went in."

"I see." the policeman mused. "Do you remember the man's name?"

"...Slightly." Aoko answered shame-faced.

"Miss, I'll have to ask you to come to the station. Perhaps we can find this man together."

Aoko's face sunk.

"But I wanted to get to the hospital. I need to see that Hige is okay." She says quietly.

"I can understand Miss. But you have to understand how important this is if we have someone who is potentially dangerous. We can contact the hospital and check on his well-being at the station." Aoko nods.

"I understand." she says disheartened.

"Can you leave now?" the officer asks.

"I was about to leave now." Aoko answers. With that she locks the door, and follows the policeman to the car.

As she rides in the car, Aoko looks to the sky.

"_Hige. Please be okay. Please...I'm coming for you as soon as I can. Until then...Please stay strong for me."_

_**...To be continued...**_

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><p><strong>AUN: Really short chapter. Sorry. But I'll have the next one ready soon. So...please critique me on the policeman encounter. I didn't watch that many crime shows, and I didn't want it to be too cliche, and I didn't have any personal experiences to draw on. (I'm otherwise grateful for that latter part.)**


	4. Deja Vu

_**AU/N: Some spoilers...with creative liberties...P.S. This chapter was written a year later than Chapter 3. I knew what I was going to write then, but I hope it still flows well.**_

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><p><em><strong>Somewhere in the Noble's capital...<strong>_

"Hige? Hige I think we lost them." called Blue breathless

"Thank God!" Hige let go of her hand, trying to slow down before he stumbles and falls flat on the ground. Blue rushes to his side.

"Hige!" She sees the ginger youth clutching his forehead. "Hige? Are you still in pain?" He shakes his head.

"It's not as bad as before. At least the noises have stopped." Hige released a tired sigh. "It must have stopped when my collar was broken-" Suddenly Hige sits up, groaning immediately after, and turns frantically at Blue. "Oh my god! Blue! You were shot!" Blue follows Hige's eyes to her right arm. A blood spot had darkened her leather sleeves.

"It's not that bad, it just grazed me." Blue holds out her arm and winces. "I don't even think it's bleeding now. See..." she grimaced. "You're making a big fuss over nothing."

"But it's my fault. I got you involved." Hige replied sadly.

"I'm the one who started fighting the soldiers." Blue started.

"Because they were after me. They recognized my collar."

"I'm half-wolf! They would have wanted to take me too." Blue retorted; anger growing in her voice.

"But you could have escaped without a scratch." Hige continued.

"And leave you behind! Who do you take me for?!" Blue screamed. Then she looked deeper into Hige's eyes. She saw the hurt, then she recalled her words.

_ "That's right...I have abandoned them before. I abandoned Hige...but...this time..."_

Blue sat in silence agony tearing at her face. Hige sighed and looked to her injured arm instead. He knew what she was thinking about, but it was too painful for him to watch.

"Hige...?" Blue's voice began soft and weary. Hige didn't move his gaze. "Hige I'm sorry. I know I haven't been a great person. But it is different now. I have accepted the fact that I have wolf blood in me. I know my Pops won't take me back now...even though I can finally talk to him."

Blue stopped. Hige was still averting his gaze, looking beyond her.

"Hige...I...I'm sorry I know you guys can't forgive me, I don't blame you! I can barely forgive myself. I-Hige! Say something! Do something! I need to know you're li-"

Hige reaches out suddenly grabs Blue's injured arm and brings the wound to his mouth. Before Blue could ask she felt him licking and suckling at her wound; he tore the fabric to get more skin. Blue's face blushed pink, and wanted to pull away. But there was something comforting about the way his lips felt on her. She could only whisper his name timidly and out of breath, because her breathing and heart rate increased. Hige continued to nurse at her wound without stopping. Finally after what seemed like eternity, yet short all together, he stopped and lowered her arm.

"I'm sorry. Something had to be done with it." Hige apologizes. "Because I still am responsible for you getting hurt."

"I think these headaches and spells you've been having are affecting your thinking." Blue scoffs, trying to shrug off the embarrassment. Hige cracks a weak smile.

_ "There she goes again, giving her tough-girl attitude."_

Hige looks around. He can't see any of the cameras, or at least he can't hear the strange noises. He shivered remembering the eerie noises. As if the static from the machines had been whispering:

_ "Bring them here. Bring them all here. You want to be safe, right? If you want to be happy, do as we ask. You can't run away. You will always come back to us."_

"So, you never really explained what was making you so weird earlier." Blue's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "Are you okay? You look ...more pale."

"Hmm? Oh I'm fine now. As for what was going on..." Hige looked up at Blue and whispered, as if he was afraid of telling. "You...know...I...I know you feel guilty helping your Pop kill all those wolves. But you're not the only one who has guilt about betraying your own kind." Blue sat up alert. She didn't say anything else, but he knew she was ready to hear the worst.

"The collar I was wearing before." Hige started, motioning to his bare neck. "It was given to me by the nobles. Back then, there were a lot more wolves in this world. The nobles were relentless, they pursued us, attacked us. Even took our prey so we would be weakened by starvation. Some wolves and I tried to go to the nobles and reason in human form.

"I don't remember who...the next moment I found myself in the capital with a metal collar around my neck, the other wolves who came with me were wearing the same.

"We were told...aheheheheh...hahahaha" Hige began laughing. However it was the kind of weak, pitiful laughing. The kind that would make one wonder if someone's sanity was breaking. Blue leaned in.

"What is it...Hige?" she asks worried.

Hige's head hung low, but his sides were still shaking from the laughter. Finally he rubbed his eyes with his fingers and sat up, his eyes just a little red.

"I'm sorry. I'm not quite sure what came over me...maybe it's the irony.

"Anyway they told us...they promised us protection, food, and shelter...All we had to do...was lure other wolves back to the capital." Blue's eyes widened.

"Befriend them, bait them, anything to get them to walk willingly in those gates. Or just simply repeat the same lie that we were told. I didn't give much of a thought. But then I'm just a selfish, arrogant ass.

"But one day the nobles showed us to another room. I had hurt my paw in a scrabble earlier so I was one of the last to enter. What I saw...what I realized..." Hige choked down what was either another laughing bout or sob. "The nobles were always going to rid the world of wolves. They promised us protection, but that didn't matter. They were still going to rid the world of wolves."

"What did they do?" asked Blue. "What did _you_ do?"

"I had a chance so I ran like hell, even with a lame paw!" Hige shouted. "Just like the coward I am! Some were killed, some were...hell I don't even know what was being done, I just knew they were never leaving alive. But that was our comeuppance."

Blue moved closer to Hige. Part of her was frightened, and part of her had this understanding, she could see that retelling this story was killing him.

"So you have been running since." she asks.

"To be honest...that's not even an accurate testimony." Hige tries to smirk, but it turned into a grimace.

"You're not telling the truth!" Blue retorts angrily. She started to move away when Hige answered.

"I can't tell the truth, when I don't even know what the truth is!" Blue stopped, puzzled. "It's hard to remember anything right, when you have had your brain prodded and interrogated so many times!" Hige looked at Blue, eyes burning. "You know why I was acting 'weird'?!

"These surveillance cameras..the loudspeakers...every wireless machine in this damn capital! It's like they were programmed to send messages to the collar. I could...I had forgotten what it was like before...but the moment I was here, it was like the city was calling to me...taunting me...ordering me...I was scared. I wanted to leave, but every turn I made they were back...calling to me. I was lost and it..."

Hige looked down to where Blue had begun stroking his hand, folded in hers. "Whatever has happened to me today, I had it coming." Hige finished quickly. He looks over to Blue, her eyes pained with the knowledge of his past, yet supporting in his present. He leaned over and touched heads. He whispered in her ear

"Before I met Kiba, Cheza, Tsume, Toboe, and you, my life was incomprehensible, as much as unforgivable. But recently, it feels like I have a life. It's a hard, depressing life, but I can remember it all. And...I'm making every choice. Thank you Blue." She could hear the smile in the last bit, and Blue returned the smile warm. She whispers back.

"No. Thank you Hige.

"So what should we do? Find the others?"

"You move fast." Hige replies disgruntled. "I'm not sure where they are, we were all separated."

"Well what were you doing in the capital?"

"Looking for Cheza. Jagara or Darcia may have her."

"Well Jagara and Darcia are nobles, and there is some kind of special ceremony for the nobles tonight. We should find their presentation hall. It shouldn't be that hard. I was looking at a map earlier."

"And knowing Kiba, he's following his nose. Not that Cheza's scent is hard to forget, but his is much stronger than mine. I think she has a mental link with him too.

"And there is Tsume and Toboe. I know they are both smart enough to catch up. So..." Hige started to get up, but found himself being weighed down by Blue.

"What's the deal?" Hige asked annoyed.

"You have had a hard day, the nobles aren't celebrating until _tonight_ and frankly you are in no condition to be dodging soldiers for the next 5 hours. So right now..." she pulled Hige to her shoulder "Just get some rest please."

"Okay." Hige surrendered. "But only for five minutes." Hige closed his eyes, and spoke to Blue in short mumbled sentences.

_ "And in five seconds he's practically asleep."_ Blue thought to herself. Then she heard Hige's voice pick up.

"Blue...you know I had...already forgiven you...I was hurt...yes...but I could never...ever...hate...you. Just don't...Blue...don't..."

Hige opened his eyes, the vast geometric capital looked more like a sad, geometric excuse for a hospital room.

"What!?" Hige tried to sit up, but found he lacked the strength. "Blue?" he called looking around, but all he found was an IV inserted in his arm. His chest was tight, as if he was bound. But struggling just made his chest hurt.

"Good god you're finally awake. Your mumbling was keeping me awake!" Hige turned toward the sound, but only saw a curtain.

"Excuse me?" Hige asked confused. A hand curls around the curtain to pull it away, and an old, scruffy man was laying in another cot reading a newspaper. His lamp, which was hidden behind the curtain blinded Hige. He tried to cover his eyes, but once again he felt so weak. All he could do was turn his head until his eyes adjusted.

"Ungh. Why can't I move. I feel awful." Hige moaned.

"Doctors probably drugged you. But now that you're awake, that may wear off soon. So someone put a bullet in you. Up to some trouble?"

"No I..." Hige started. Then he looked to the ceiling. He thought of Aoko. "Maybe...but it was worth it."

"At what cost?" The old man grunted. He held up a plastic bag with a fuchsia and red scarf inside. "Doctors wanted to throw it away, but I asked them if I could hold onto this for you." Hige was going to thank him, but the old-timer wasn't looking very pleased. There was also something very familiar about this man. Hige put two and two together, and finally answered.

"Thanks. You wouldn't happen to be called 'Yaiden' now?"

"What have you heard of me? Or perhaps" he held up the bagged scarf "You're more familiar with a relation of mine?"

"Oh yeah, Aoko." Then it hit him. Aoko's scarf was fuchsia, not fuchsia and red. There was bloodstains on it.

"Oh my gosh! Aoko. She better be okay." Hige looked over to Yaiden.

"Oh yes indeed! Care to tell me why my daughter's scarf is covered in your blood. What the hell you have been doing?"

"Oh..heh...it just started as a Samaritan act...and...

_ "Oh boy, when we talked about meeting Pops in this world, this is not how I wanted to start."_

Hige looked out the window in the sky.

_ "Aoko...Blue...I don't know where you are right now, but please be okay. I swear I'll find you. Until then...Please stay strong for me."_

_**...To be continued...**_

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><p><strong>AUN: Threw a left turn there. I had this planned for a long time. The conversation between Yaiden and Hige was originally going to be in Chapter 6, but I thought it might fit better here. The memory scene takes place during episode 25. **

**I do want to mention that the intimacy for Hige and Blue in this chapter has a meaning. I wanted to create an image where you could see Hige and Blue interacting this way as humans or wolves. I find in the animation that many of what the wolves are doing with their "hands" are being done with their muzzles. Okay now you'll have to wait, so please comment. ^_^**


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